AfroOfili

The Chris Ofili show at the Arts Club of Chicago was a rather relaxing look at an artist who is known by many for controversy.  The lack of ponographic clippings was somewhat disappointing however there were specific aspects of the apparently simple drawing work displayed.
In our recent essay assignment, I chose to look into the work and philosophy behind Roger Brown's style.  In his words "there has to be a complexity in painting but to make things instantly readable is very important...reducing a certain form so that you can repeat it over and over" while then continually add more complexity is a key aspect of Brown's work. At the Ofili show, it was apparent how the process described is not painting specific but spans other forms of representational art. Chris Ofili's pencil drawings are a prime example of the usage of a single symbol to create a complex image. 

I was most interested in his series 7 brides for 7 bros created in the period between 2004 and 2006.  Each depicts a woman posed erotically open and welcome.  At first glance it looks like a simple line drawing but a closer look will tell you that each woman is in fact made of tinny afro-ed heads of almost uniform size and shape.  I was impressed by the way with which Ofili has taken this one iconic shape and used it obsessively to create complex forms and shapes.